Food giant Unilever boosted net profits by 45% in the first quarter, but sales slumped by 17%. Net profit by the Dutch-British group amounted to €637m on the basis of current exchange rates from €441m in the first quarter of last year.
The group, which has been restructuring since 2000, said that business at the beginning of the year had been slower than it expected.
But it stood by a forecast in February signalling that net earnings per share before allowance for exceptional charges and the writing down of the value of goodwill, or intangible assets, would rise by slightly more than 10%.
The company noted that the fall of sales in the first quarter had been only 4% when calculated on the basis of constant, or comparable, exchange rates.
Unilever said that the sales fall reflected the disposal of assets under its plan for growth. This restructuring, launched in February 2000, is intended to concentrate the group on 400 core brands, a reduction from 1,600, by 2004. In the first quarter sales by these brands, such as Dove, Knorr, Lipton and Magnum, rose by 3%. Anlaysts had expected to see an increase of 4-5%.
Joint chairmen Irishman Niall Fitzgerald and Antony Burgmans said that the first quarter had been tougher than expected in terms of sales. But the group had achieved good results in emerging markets and in products for body care. The food division had experienced a difficult quarter in Europe and the US.
